Read the latest edition of Jake Ciely’s fantasy football rankings ahead of Week 11. 

The 2023 fantasy football season is here! The longest preseason ever (or so it seemed) is finally over, which means the Week 1 fantasy football rankings, sleepers and projections are here. And, of course, I include a bit of Fun with Ranks! Welcome back for the new season, and I welcome your votes for the Top 10 Best [see below, no spoilers] in the comments.

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WEEK 1 FANTASY FOOTBALL SLEEPERS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
These are sleepers (DuckTales and Darkwing Duck style — Woo-oo is worthy of the risk in most leagues, and Dangerous is if you need a Hail Mary). They will not mimic my rankings 100%. This is about chasing upside and often carries more risk — put simply, they are potential upside players you might consider over a quality replacement.

QUARTERBACK

Woo-oo Worthy: Jared Goff, DET — All of Goff’s indoor 2022 numbers were better, including a stark 2.2 to 0.8 TD/G mark, but this is the Chiefs. We know the Lions offense is one of the best, and the Chiefs can be the best, forcing Goff to pass a ton in the week’s highest projected total. The Chiefs were the only team that allowed 30+ touchdown passes (33), and they only had four games without 2+ touchdown passes allowed (Malik Willis, Bryce Perkins, Geno Smith, Russell Wilson second game, Jarrett Stidham). Outside Smith, the rest aren’t the threat Goff is even away from the dome.

RUNNING BACK

Woo-oo Worthy: Raheem Mostert, MIA — Jeff Wilson is on the IR, De’Von Achane struggled in the preseason and, as a result, Salvon Ahmed is reportedly the second option. Mostert is set for heavy work in Week 1, and he had five double-digit fantasy tallies last year while sharing work. We always preach not to overthink Week 1 and start your early picks, but you can easily make a case to start Mostert over Breece Hall, Javonte Williams and other backs with uncertain workloads.

Let’s… Get… Dangerous: Jerick McKinnon, KC — McKinnon is in that high-scoring Lions matchup, and his floor-to-ceiling range is about as big as it gets. McKinnon could get you 20 points, or he could finish with a measly 2.0 points. The Lions tied for the third-most points allowed per game and gave up the fourth-most rushing yards. Yes, teams do improve from year to year, but it’s hard to see the Lions making enough of a leap to stop the entire Chiefs backfield, and McKinnon has the added upside of Isiah Pacheco still working his way back to 100%.

WIDE RECEIVER

Woo-oo Worthy: Skyy Moore, KC — I already had Moore here before the Travis Kelce news — excuse me while I shower cry again. Moore has been a top-two receiver for the Chiefs all preseason (Marquez Valdes-Scantling the other). Moore fills the JuJu Smith-Schuster void and arguably has more upside than JJSS with his intriguing speed after the catch and on deep routes. Targeting this projected shootout, Moore is in play as a WR3, alongside Jordan Addison, Gabe Davis, Marquise Brown and more.

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Woo-oo Worthy: Marvin Mims, DEN — As of today, Jerry Jeudy sounds unlikely for Week 1, as the Broncos don’t want the injury to be a year-long issue. Mims has impressed since camp, and with Tim Patrick out for the year, Mims will start alongside Courtland Sutton. Mims is an impressive talent, who can line up at all receiver positions thanks to his speed, adjustments and big-play upside. Depending on your team, Mims might not be a must-start, but his upside is a Top 20 finish, making the risk more than worth it in most leagues.

Let’s… Get… Dangerous: Van Jefferson, LAR — With Cooper Kupp out, the door is open for someone besides Tyler Higbee to step up. Puka Nacua is a good all-around receiver with starting upside down the road, Tutu Atwell is a potential volume play in a lesser Jakobi Meyers-like role, but Jefferson has Week 1 WR1 upside. Jefferson remains boom/bust, but as we remember from receivers like Torrey Smith, all it takes is 3-4 receptions to notch 100 yards and a score.

TIGHT END

Woo-oo Worthy: Tyler Higbee, LAR — It was interesting to see a Top 10 tight end, who had three of his four double-digit target games with Matthew Stafford and 108 targets overall, slide in drafts. As mentioned with Jefferson, Stafford needs options in Week 1, and Higbee faces a Seahawks team that gave up the sixth-most points to tight ends in 2021 and the most in 2022. Even an improvement on defense wouldn’t knock the Seahawks out of being a favorable matchup for Higbee.

FUN WITH RANKINGS!

With Transformers: Rise of the Beasts being the best Transformers since the first live-action movie (the 1986 animated movie still reigns as No. 1), I wanted to kick off the 2023 fun ranks with the best Transformers ever. Before rolling out my list, I’m not including Optimus Prime and Megatron because those are obviously in everyone’s Top 10. So, here are my…

Top 10 Transformers

  • Soundwave — Might be an unpopular opinion, but he has Laserbeak and Ravage, which are badass enough on their own, plus Rumble, all as cassettes he can unleash. Soundwave is also a genius of a strategist, loyal (not common for Decepticons), can turn into a satellite, has sonic cannons and more. Awesome design and character.
  • Starscream — His voice may annoy (depending on iteration), but Starscream has come close to killing and/or defeating Optimus Prime multiple times, often only thwarted by Megatron. The midair switches from jet to robot for combat are damn impressive.
  • Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime — Sort of the Spider-Man of the Autobots (leader, but questions himself), steps up when Optimus is killed (spoiler), and his time slowing gun is a chef’s kiss of a weapon.
  • Bumblebee — The heart of the Autobots, best friend to humans, never gives up, fun music/TV/movie clips to help him “talk.”
  • Shockwave — The deathly red eye and design, imposing voice, controls the drill worm(s), a master strategist who has defeated the Autobots and could likely overpower Megatron at any point.
  • Jazz — Coolest Transformer? Quite possibly. The John Wick of the Autobots.
  • Ratchet — He’s the sleeper of all Transformers. Underrated MVP when needed, the last surviving Autobot at one point, selfless, and he’s the medic. Every team needs one and rarely gives them the respect deserved.
  • Drift — He’s frigin samurai! Like Jetfire, Drift used to be a Decepticon known as Deadlock — badass in design and name.
  • Grimlock — Leader of the Dinobots, he’s a fire-breathing Tyrannosaurus Rex!
  • Ironhide — One of the better voices, the true warrior of the group, great weapons, always gets the sad death.

    • Honorable Mention: Sixshot — Decepticon replacement for Drift with six forms from tank to wolf!… and Devastator — No! Not the awful version Michael Bay cooked up with baallllls, but the terrific green and purple devastation machine (hence the name).

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    DFL: Wheelie — Rhyming, Walmart-discount-bin-design, kid Autobot… and Huffer — In the movie… just.shut.up! Whiny as hell, tiny semi-truck that ends up with pipes for hands, because…?

    WEEK 1 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS

    🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
    These can differ from my rankings, and my ranks are the order I’d start players outside of added context, such as, “Need highest upside, even if risky.” Also, based on 4-point TDs for QB, 6-point rest, and Half-PPR

    Week 1 Fantasy Football Projections Link Sunday Update

    ***These are NOT updated Sunday morning, FYI***

    WEEK 1 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

    🚨 HEADS UP 🚨

    • There is no perfect widget out there, sadly, still. I know many view this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop/etc. if possible or 2) open in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, to get the scrolling to properly work.
    • Updated regularly, so check up to lineups locking.

    (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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